DIY kits may see million more cervical-cancer tests
More than one million extra women could have life-saving cervical-cancer checks if the NHS adopted do-it-yourself testing, researchers estimate. The team at King’s College London said the results of its self-testing trial were “fantastic” and “gave power to women”. The kits are like a Covid swab but longer and are posted to a lab for analysis. The NHS called the findings extremely positive and is assessing whether to roll out the scheme.
There are more than 3,000 new cases of cervical cancer in the UK each year. Women are invited for cervical-cancer screening – what used to be known as the smear test – every three to five years between the ages of 25 and 65. But about 4.6 million women in England – nearly a third of those offered screening – do not come forward.
“Cervical cancer screening has been in decline for the last 20 years,” a senior consultant on the trial, Mairead Lyons, said. The YouScreen trial is the first time self-testing has been offered as part of cervical-cancer screening in the UK. The swab looks for HPV, the driving force behind most cervical cancers.
The kit contains a long cotton-wool bud, used to swab the lining of the vagina for about 20 seconds. This is sent to a laboratory to test for human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes most cervical cancers. If this is positive, they are invited for a further test to see if any cells in the cervix have started the journey to becoming a cancer.
The trial ran in five London boroughs, in 2021, and 27,000 test kits were offered. The results, published in eClinicalMedicine, showed that 56% completed tests offered by their GP and 13% completed tests posted to their home. If these results were replicated across the whole of England, the researchers estimate it would increase the proportion screened from 69.9% to 77.3% – about one million extra women over a three-year screening cycle. The trial also showed self-testing reached women irrespective of their ethnicity or wealth.
“I am so excited by it,
